Fabric-laminated foam materials, such as neoprene or polyurethane, are often used for a wide range of applications, such as wraps, supports, braces and other orthopaedic products.
For these applications it is of high importance that the materials have certain built-in properties. These properties may for instance be a cushioning effect for comfort, compression for support, as well as stabilizing a limb, a joint or another area of the human and/or animal anatomy.
Other examples are resiliency, elasticity or flexibility in order to provide orthopaedic products which may fit the wearer during movement or fit a large variety of wearers and at the same time provide the right amount of power, i.e. support and compression.
However, these fabric-laminated foam materials such as neoprene, have the disadvantages and drawbacks that they per se are substantially impermeable to air or gasses and moisture, and thereby not breathable, wherefore their use in orthopaedic products are not always favourable especially when used to cover for instance wounds or when used in athletic wraps or shoes. In order to improve the properties of the neoprene with regards to permeability perforations or holes are often provided in the material, however, scientific test have shown that knitted spacer fabrics are superior to perforated neoprene in relation to breathability and moisture permeability.
Therefore, textiles such as knitted stretchable spacer fabrics are more and more used instead of the above mentioned materials.
Furthermore, the anatomy of the wearer consist of many surfaces which have a double curvature form. Thus, in the prior art it is necessary to specially adapt for instance the orthopaedic product to these surfaces of double curvature for providing the right support and comfort for the wearer. This is in the prior art carried out by selecting several pieces of fabric having different properties or pieces of the same fabric cut at same or different shapes/angles/directions and subsequently adapting as well as form-fitting the pieces into an orthopaedic product.
Most of the products are produced from flat materials like fabric, foam or neoprene, and are then cut and sewn into anatomically conforming tubes. The thereby provided tube will then have at least one seam, welding or other assembly along the length direction of the limb, which may provide discomfort to the wearer.
There is thus a need for developing and providing a tubular spacer fabric, in which several different properties may still be incorporated, and which can be seamlessly fitted to or slipped on a person's limb.
Other relevant built-in properties may for instance be support, skin friendliness, breathability, moisture handling properties, protection from impact, rigidity and stiffness for supporting, stabilizing or immobilizing a limb, joint, muscle, bone or other body part.
For orthopaedic applications within support, splinting, bracing and casting, the textile or other soft materials used are often combined with additional stiffening elements in the form of rigid or semi-rigid supports, such as stays, polymer materials, impregnation resins, metal splints, plaster of pairs, fibreglass or the like. These elements can for example be coated or laminated on, sewn on, moulded on, welded on, riveted on or in other ways adhered to/assembled with the soft materials, or they can be separate and just used in conjunction with the softer materials.
In any case, the soft materials contribute with cushioning, softness, moisture handling, skin friendliness, breathability, support and the like, and the stiffening elements contribute with stiffness and further support.
During use of the brace or cast the combination of a rigid material with a conventional soft, e.g. foam padding, often traps or promotes heat and moisture in the skin area, which may lead to skin maceration and skin breakdown or possible skin infection.
Rigid braces and casts are often heavy and/or thick, due to the combination of large rigid parts with a thick cushioning inner layer and assembly means, and can thus be uncomfortable to the wearer. Some braces and most casts cannot be washed or in other ways exposed to humidity or water, due to the often moisture absorbing thick inner layers that will take a long time to dry and also due to the covering rigid brace that further slows down the water penetration, evaporation and drying speed. For example, showering or rainy weather can be a problem to the wearer, where the brace will have to be removed during showering, or the cast be temporary protected by a water-proof material, i.e. a sealed polybag, or direct contact with water simply have to be avoided.
A limited number of products exist that will actually allow the wearer to i.e. swim or shower with a cast, such as for instance the PTFE cast liner padding used in connection with fibreglass tape.
Furthermore, it is often important that the orthopaedic product is permeable to air and moisture. Often this is attempted to be obtained by providing perforations or holes in the stiffening and/or soft elements. This may be a further production step that makes the end products more expensive, unattractive, and often it does not ensure adequate breathability. An example of this is perforation of neoprene, where tests have shown that in spite of the perforation the breathability and moisture handling properties are often unsuitable for use for medical bandages or sports bandages, due to moisture build-up on the human skin, cf. the article “Physiological Demands on Materials for Bandages” of Dr. Volkmar T. Bartels and Prof. Dr. Karl-Heinz Umbach.
Orthopaedic support products exist in numerous variants for the different body parts, such as knee, foot, wrist, back, neck, elbow etc. In general they may consist of soft materials only or a combination of soft materials and stiffening elements, depending on the level of support and immobilizing needed. They may be adjustable (e.g. hook & loop closure) and may in some areas contain stiffening elements, such as semi-rigid or rigid stays, flexible hinges, polymer laminated materials or the like. The stiffening elements may be pre-shaped or be shapeable. The shapeable stiffening elements may expediently be moulded or formed for instance by hand to the body part to be supported, whereby a tight fit is obtained.
However, as mentioned above during the production of these orthopaedic products, the soft material, such as neoprene, laminated foam, elastic, felt or spacer fabric, is first cut out in one or more pieces having suitable size and form. The anatomically adapted shape of the support product is thereafter obtained by joining together, for instance by sewing, welding, gluing and/or moulding, the use of “Hook & loop” closures, and/or impregnating the different soft parts. During the joining or after, the stiffening elements are incorporated in the product by sewing, encapsulating, coating, laminating, welding or other methods. This involves many time-consuming processes and thereby makes the end product expensive. Furthermore the seams or joints can be uncomfortable and create pressure marks on the wearer's skin.
As mentioned above in the prior art the use of spacer fabrics in flat fabric form for orthopaedic products is known. Thus, in the prior art for a spacer fabric product to encapsulate or encircle a certain limb or body part, the spacer fabric has to have a seam or other joint along the length direction of the body part.
In order to limit the number of seams, joints and/or number of manufacturing steps, a need has risen for providing a seamless limbsize tubular spacer fabric wherein built-in properties, form and fit, are provided in as few manufacturing steps as possible.